1. Field of the Disclosed Embodiments
This disclosure relates to systems and methods for uniquely identifying and authenticating process molded products, and/or confirming compatibility of process molded replacement component parts in devices in which the process molded replacement component parts are installed for use, based on comparing intentionally introduced defects in the process molded products with identification information provided on the process molded products.
2. Related Art
All manner of image forming devices make use of consumable products, such as inks and toners, and otherwise include customer replaceable components or units, many of which are routinely replaceable based on a limited service life. In the latter instance, the service life of a particular customer replaceable component or unit may be tracked and measured, for example, according to a number of image forming operations that the customer replaceable component or unit may undertake. Depending on a level of sophistication in the image forming device, a customer or end-user may be provided feedback regarding a condition of a limited-service-life customer replaceable component or unit, or a remaining level of a particular consumable in the image forming device. Customers and end-users may be provided with alerts to warn them regarding an impending end-of-service-life condition for a customer replaceable component or unit, or a pending exhaustion of a particular consumable in the image forming device.
Companies that manufacture and sell image forming devices generate substantial post-sale revenue from the separate business of selling replacement components to the customers and end-users to which they have previously sold the image forming devices. Based on the significant revenue that may be available in the marketplace for replacement consumables, recent years have witnessed a significant growth in companies whose sole business is to manufacture, remanufacture, refurbish, refill, or otherwise produce counterfeit or copies of (often referred to as “gray” market) replacement consumables for use in other companies' image forming devices. The steep increase in the growth of companies manufacturing and selling “gray” market components adversely affects the companies that manufacture and sell the image forming devices for customers and/or end-users. There are measurable economic effects based on the loss of revenue from the customers and/or end-users purchasing replacement consumables from sources other than the image forming device manufacturers, or those authorized and licensed by the device manufacturers. More subtle, however, are the intangibles such as the potential for an impact on the reputation of the image forming device manufacturer in instances where, for example, specific users experience poor image quality for images produced on a particular image forming device without recognizing that the fault may lie not with the image forming device itself, but rather with the quality of the less-than-optimally-compatible replacement consumables that have been procured from other sources and installed in the image forming device.
The companies that manufacture and sell image forming devices to customers and end-users, therefore, have a significantly vested interest in attempting to combat the use of “gray” market replacement consumables in their image forming devices. In order to combat the proliferation of “gray” market components, device manufacturers are taking affirmative steps to address the issue. The schemes employed by the image forming device manufacturers may include contractual schemes such as specifically warning their customers and/or end-users that the use of non-company manufactured replacement consumables in a particular image forming device will invalidate any warranty protection on the image forming device. There will remain, however, customers and/or end-users that are willing to accept voiding the warranty as a trade-off for potential cost savings and other incentives that may be associated with procuring and using “gray” market replacement consumables.
Industries that manufacture machinery of all types, including companies that manufacture and sell image forming devices, employ myriad strategies to “mark” the authorized and compatible replacement components and consumables that they produce in ways that are designed to thwart the efforts of producers and consumers of counterfeit or copied products. These strategies often include mechanisms by which the replacement consumables and the devices into which they are installed are made to “communicate” with and the devices are programmed to “recognize” only authorized and compatible replacement components produced by, or under a license with, the device manufacturer. For example, extensive beneficial use is made of capabilities to externally monitor operating conditions of myriad customer replaceable components or units, and consumables via the containers in which the consumables are provided, in all manner of devices and systems with which the customer replaceable components and units and/or consumables are associated. Externally or remotely electronically-readable monitoring modules associated with the customer replaceable components or units, or consumables containers, may provide a monitoring function for monitoring one or more characteristics of the customer replaceable component or unit, or the consumable. More advantageously, the role of these externally or remotely readable electronic data storage components has been expanded to include storing information that may be read by a device when the customer replaceable component or unit, or consumables container, is installed in the device. The “read” information may include data by which to identify the customer replaceable component or unit, or consumable, to the device and to confirm authenticity and/or compatibility of the customer replaceable component or unit, or consumable, with the device. Failure to pass certain comparison or mating tests in the device may lead the device itself to inhibit further internal operations until the situation is corrected.
Certain customer replaceable components or units, and/or consumables, may not be amenable to inclusion of externally or remotely readable electronically writeable/readable devices or modules. As such, despite the advantages of being able to provide specific identification, authentication and compatibility data in a manner that may be difficult to reproduce using this technique, other techniques may need to be exploited for certain customer replaceable components, units or consumables.